This is the first of a 3 part series that will take you through all 3 phases of the audition process: The Ask, The Audition, The Acclimation

Part 1: The Ask

“No, sorry. We don’t need any more singers or vocalists. As a matter of fact, we have too many amazingly talented volunteers in our band. ”

My guess is if you lead the band in your church, you have never said that statement in your entire time in ministry. And if you have, the rest of us kind of don’t like you.

The reality is it’s very tough to maintain a solid pool of talent in worship ministry and the majority of us are terrified of the phone calls or emails from the band members calling off the weekend. Why? Because our talent pool is kiddie-pool deep and we’ve called our uncle Marvin to fill in on bass about 5 too many times. Not to mention your summer series should just be called “Karaoke. We’re sorry.”

More than likely, the talent is out there. They want to play with you! You just aren’t making the right Asks.

For 13 years, I was lucky enough to be a part of an amazing ministry that averaged around 80-100 auditions a year and developed a great system for cultivating the talent. We made a LOT of mistakes while developing our approach over the years, but we corrected and learned from them.

Below is a list of 4 Asks that are imperative to getting the talent on your team.

1. Make signing up so easy a 10yr old can figure it out.

Seriously, test your process with a 10yr old. If they can’t figure it out, you are more than likely going to lose some great talent. A lot of churches make you go to their website that had it’s heyday in the AOL.com era. You struggle to find their Arts page, and then you labor to even find a person to contact for an audition. Once you do find someone to contact, they might not respond for 1-2 weeks. Very. Frustrating.

Instead, run an announcement telling them to meet you in front of the stage immediately after your services and get their contact info. They will more than likely sign up for an audition once they realize you are actually a really nice person and not intimidating at all.

2. If you put out a general ad or announcement for musicians and vocalists, 65-70% will be female vocalists.

Female vocalists love to sing in church. If they hear a call for auditions, they will be there before you can say Point of Grace. Be specific with your ask. If you need guitar players, ask for guitar players. A general ask doesn’t convey your desperate need for certain positions.

3. Your team is the second best tool you have in bringing in the talent.

Unless your band is full of hyper introverts that just jam in their bedroom, chances are they know at least 3 musicians in their skill level. The audition process only brought in about 55% of our active volunteers. The other 45% came from friends of musicians in our bands. Challenge your team to make an ask of their friends. If they won’t, then you have to ask yourself  ‘why would my band not want their friends playing here?’

4. You serve them. Don’t give the air that it’s their privilege to serve you.

Your stages may be large. You may have thousands of moving lights and cool widgets. It doesn’t mean you should act like a jerk to people wanting to use their gifts in your “excellence driven” ministry. When they inquire about auditioning, never leave them with anything less than the feeling of appreciation for their inquiry. Don’t go bootcamp on them explaining how ‘MANY OF YOU MAY TRY OUT BUT FEW WILL MAKE IT!’ You’re trying to welcome talent, not scare them out of an audition.

In the next part I will cover The Audition: the do’s and don’ts to ensuring your auditions get a fair, fun and rewarding audition.